Saturday, 27 December 2014

Unico Wilhelm,
Count van Wassenaer Obdam (30 October 1692 - 9 November 1766) was a Dutch nobleman
who was a diplomat, composer, and administrator. He reorganised the Bailiwick
of Utrecht of the Teutonic Order. His most important surviving compositions are
the Concerti Armonici, which until 1980 had been misattributed to the Italian
composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-1736) and to Carlo Ricciotti
(1681-1756).
Van Wassenaer
was born into a distinguished family of wealth, power and accomplishment—the
House of Wassenaer. He grew up in the Hague, where he was taught to play the
harpsichord and violin. In 1707-09 he stayed with his father and three sisters
in Düsseldorf at the court of Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine. The strong
Italian influences at the court had a major influence on his musical
development.
On 18 September
1710 Unico Wilhelm was admitted to the University of Leiden to study law. In
December 1711 he interrupted his studies to go to Frankfurt for the coronation
of the Emperor Charles VI. In June 1713, after completing his studies, he
returned to Düsseldorf where his father and sisters had settled. He may have
accompanied Arent van Wassenaer Duyvenvoorde on a visit to Britain in 1715-16.
He made a grand tour of France and Italy in 1717-18. In 1723 Unico Wilhelm
married Dodonea Lucia van Goslinga (the daughter of Sicco van Goslinga), with
whom he had three children.
While based at
the Hague between 1725 and 1740, Unico Wilhelm wrote the seven Concerti
Armonici. The Concerti Armonici, published anonymously in 1740, were printed in
London in 1755 as compositions by the violinist and impresario Carlo Ricciotti
(c. 1681–1756). It has since been established that these were the work of Unico
Wilhelm. There is no evidence that Ricciotti wrote any music. The concerti were
dedicated to Wilhelm’s friend, Count Willem Bentinck. The slow movements of the
concerti are especially remarkable and have expressive beauty.
The Polish
composer Franciszek Lessel (1780–1838) asserted incorrectly that the concertos
were written by Pergolesi. Since the style of the concertos is Italian, laid
out in typical Roman fashion with four parts for violin and consisting of four
parts instead of the Venetian three, they are comparable to works by Pietro
Locatelli. However, in 1979-1980 a manuscript of the six concerti was found in
the archives of Twickel Castle (the castle where Van Wassenaer was born) labelled
“Concerti Armonici”. Although the handwriting was not by Van Wassenaer, the
manuscript did have an introduction in his hand, reading: “Partition de mes
concerts gravez par le Sr. Ricciotti”. Research done by the Dutch musicologist
Albert Dunning, established there can be no doubt that the concerti were, in
fact, written by Van Wassenaer.
The Concerti
Armonici were among the works that formed the basis for Igor Stravinsky’s “Pulcinella”,
based on works considered at the time to be by Pergolesi. Apart from Concerti
Armonici, three sonatas for recorder and continuo also by Van Wassenaer were
discovered in the early 1990s.

Friday, 26 December 2014

“Underneath our nice, friendly façades there is great unease. If I were to scratch below the surface of anyone I would find fear, pain, and anxiety running amok. We all have ways to cover them up. We overeat, over-drink, overwork; we watch too much television.” - Joko Beck

After the excesses of the Christmas dinner table, it is good to have something light to eat in order to give your stomach a chance to recover. Here is such a dish, which nevertheless is quite filling and tasty. It is also one that can be whipped up in a hurry from ingredients that can be stored in your pantry (tinned stuff) and freezer (seafood highlighter, shelled prawns), making it the perfect dish to serve to unexpected visitors who turn up and decide to stay to lunch or dinner… Serve with fresh, crusty bread (or even crackers), some sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, and wash down with some bubbly.SEAFOOD SALADIngredients

300 g Thomy Mayonnaise Delikatess (easily the best mayonnaise in a jar, with the least sugar! We use home-made mayonnaise that has zero sugar in it, but Thomy is good at a pinch)MethodOpen all tins and prepare the contents by draining well and chopping up. In a large bowl shred the tuna chunks and add the chopped anchovy fillets. Mix well.

Fold in the mayonnaise, using a little more or less so that it binds all the ingredients together.

Chill for about 30 minutes and serve.
The success of the salad depends on using ingredients that contain no added sugar. Most mayonnaise in a jar is sickly sweet, as are the dill gherkins. The sweet taste combined with the seafood can ruin the salad, which should be slightly tart, savoury and pleasantly peppery, not hot.
Share your favourite recipes by using the Mr Linky tool below:

Thursday, 25 December 2014

Christmas Day, today in Melbourne was a delight weather-wise. It was fine and sunny, warm not hot and the blue skies were punctuated now and then by white clouds that promised a rainy night, as it happened. A walk in the morning down to the Parklands proved to be a wonderful start to the day.
Our Christmas was a quiet family affair, spent indoors with music, good food and wine and thankfully gentle spirits. I feel very fortunate to have enjoyed a day like today, full of peace, joy and good cheer. To all my friends, here at Google Blogger I wish you all the best for the Festive Season!

An extended quote of the day today that to me delivers the message of Christmas so well…“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

Tuesday, 23 December 2014

“Behold, I bring
you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” - Luke 2:10
Well, it’s
beginning to feel like Christmas, at long last. Yesterday, we had the Christmas
decorations out and by late evening everything was up. The lights are lit, the
wreaths and trees and balls send out a message of good cheer, while the holly
and the mistletoe hark back to our European heritage of a wintry Christmas,
although here in the Antipodes we had a top of 30˚C today! It’s interesting how
here in Australia, we have preserved the Christmas traditions almost completely
intact and it is only relatively recently that we are adapting to the climate
and the summer celebration of Christmas.
Christmas as a
Christian celebration came to supplant a pagan festival and customs relating to
the ancient cults and gods were syncretised with the Christian ritual in order
to absorb securely as many as possible of the new converts to Christianity. The
Dies Natalis Invicti Solis was an
ancient Roman festival more of a religious nature and thus important to priests
predominantly. It was the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun and marked an
important date on the calendar of the cult of Mithras.
The Mithraic cult was one
of the chief pagan competitors to Christianity. Mithras was a sun god and his
birthday fell close to the winter solstice, when the days began to lengthen and
the sun once again appeared unconquered. The Christian tradition absorbed this
festival and also that of the Saturnalia, thus attracting many pagans but
re-interpreting their mythology according to more appropriate Christian
symbolology.
Another winter
solstice festival that became absorbed into Christmas was that of Yule or Jol,
celebrated especially in the North, wherever the Norse pantheon held sway.
Jolnir was another name for Odin, the chief god, the Norse equivalent of Zeus
or Jupiter. Odin was the god of ecstasy and intoxicating drink, but also the
god of death. The sacrificial beer of Odin became the blessed Christmas beer of
the middle ages and also survives in the wassail cup of “lamb’s wool”. The feasting that occurred during Yuletide also
included providing food and drink for the ghosts that roamed the earth around
this time (Finnish Christmas Eve tradition).
Bonfires were lit and this tradition has survived in the form of the
yule log. The Christmas tree tradition
is essentially a Germanic one that may hail back to the Norse legend of
Yggdrasil, the great tree on whose branches rested the universe. The
ivie and holly berries are seen, And
Yule Log and Wassaile come round agen. At
Christmas play, and make good cheer, For
Christmas comes but once a year. Thomas
Tusser (ca 1520-1580).
Appropriately,
the word for the day is: “Christmas”Christmas|ˈkrisməs| noun ( pl. -mases |ˌkrɪsməsəz|)

the annual
Christian festival celebrating Christ's birth, held on December 25.• the period
immediately before and after December 25: We
had guests over Christmas.

Christ|krīst| nounThe title, also
treated as a name, given to Jesus of Nazareth.Exclamation: An
oath used to express irritation, dismay, or surprise.PHRASESbefore
Christfull form of BC .DERIVATIVESChristhood|-ˌhoŏd| |ˌkraɪstˈhʊd| nounChristlike|-ˌlīk| |ˌkraɪs(t)ˈlaɪk| adjectiveChristly|ˌkraɪs(t)li| adjectiveORIGIN: Old
English Crīst, from Latin Christus, from Greek Khristos, noun use of an adjective
meaning ‘anointed,’ from khriein
‘anoint,’ translating Hebrew māšīaḥ
‘Messiah.’MERRY CHRISTMAS
TO ALL, WHATEVER YOUR BELIEF OR FAITH.CELEBRATE LIFE
AND REJOICE IN THE POWER OF SELFLESS LOVE!

“Man is the only animal that
can remain on friendly terms with the victims he intends to eat until he eats
them.” - Samuel ButlerThere is a
passage in C.S. Lewis’s book “The Silver Chair” where Eustace and Jill (the
children who are transported by magic to Narnia, the land of Aslan) find
themselves amongst giants. They are mollycoddled and made much of, fed all
manners of things delicious and made as comfortable as possible. All seems to
be delightful and they enjoy their sojourn there until they discover a giants’
cookery book that has this in it:“MAN: This elegant little biped has long been valued
as a delicacy. It forms the traditional part of the Autumn Feast, and is served
between the fish and the joint. Each man...”When I first
read this as a child I felt a shiver of morbid fascination and abhorrence down
my spine. I imagined myself in the place of poor Eustace and Jill, being
fattened by giants so that I would be part of a rare and gastronomically
delightful course in the Autumn Feast banquet. Cannibalism fascinates us and at
the same time strikes us as the utmost indication of barbaric behaviour. Yes
most of us think nothing of biting into a delicious ham sandwich, or a juicy
steak or a serving of coq-au-vin.The art of
dining has been elevated to an exquisite art form and all manner of exotic
ingredients are combined with the staples from the garden, the vegetable patch,
the orchard and of course the farmyard to concoct delicious dishes to tempt
even the most jaded palate. Vegetarians are few and far between, although the
percentage of vegetarians in Western countries is on the increase (about 1% of
Western populations would be classed as strict vegetarians – see this
interesting [though dated] article: http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/poll.htm).For our literary
Tuesday today, I offer you a book that is a veritable bible for vegetarians and
animal activists, as it considers the plight of farm animals – animals raised
for the sole purpose of providing food for humans. The book is “The Pig who Sang to the Moon” by
Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson (2003). He argues convincingly that farm animals have
feelings and consciousness. Intelligence and curiosity, self reliance and
humour, sociability and bravery, grief and dignity are hardly the words that
would immediately spring to our mind to describe goats and pigs, cows and
chickens; however, Masson demonstrates that these emotions and attributes are
evident in these ‘lowly’ animals.In his 300-page
book, Masson devotes each chapter to an animal: Cow, pig, chicken, sheep/goat,
duck, etc and examines through history, literature, anecdotes, scientific
studies and his own personal experience the way that we describe these
creatures as “dumb beasts without feelings” is completely wrong. We all have
immense sympathy for companion animals and pets like cats and dogs. We would
think it enormously inhumane and barbaric to kill cats and dogs for food, but
most of us would not blink an eyelid at eating a ham sandwich. However, pigs
are cleaner than dogs and easier to housetrain, of all animals their physiology
and flesh is most like ours, they are incredibly friendly and will curiously
follow us all day, more so than our pet cats. In fact, “mini” pigs have been
successfully adopted as pets by some people.Masson’s
position in his book is that farm animals that have been specifically bred for
our table fare are living in a completely artificial environment (in some cases
analogous to a medieval prison in human terms). These animals find themselves
struggling to cope in an environment that is all wrong for them. The specific
instinctual behaviours that these animals carry in their genes do not have a
chance of being expressed in these wrong environments. They have been unable to
adapt as adaptation takes hundreds of thousands of years and we have
domesticated them for only thousands of years. How can a cow that is separated
from her calf immediately it is born and bred to be milked by a machine daily,
carry out the incredibly tender and loving rearing of her young that we see in
wild cattle? How can a battery hen luxuriate in an obviously enjoyable dust
bath that the free range chicken can? How can a pig be curious and
companionable and clever if it is confined to an indoor “factory farm” sty and
never sees the light of day in its life?This is a book
that will elicit gut-wrenching emotion from most of its readers, as it really
does pack a punch in the stomach (both puns are intended!). Masson describes a
harsh and brutal reality (and yes, the truth is bitter), but he is also
optimistic about the way that some enlightened farmers go out of their way to
make an environment that is more pleasant for the animals they rear, seeing
that we are unable to completely do away with farm animals.

To be a devil’s
advocate, Masson does fling some wild hypotheses around in his book (which are
not substantiated or even argued through logically). He can become emotional
over what he discusses and tugs at our heartstrings rather than the intellect
in places. He can jump around from topic to topic without much connection or
the rigour of a scientific paper. He often preaches from his self-righteous
pulpit and can be extremely negative about some things (for example, arguing
that even when raising chickens humanely in a free range farm, it is immoral to
take their eggs from them).Nevertheless,
when we consider that 10 billion farm animals are killed for human consumption
annually in the USA alone, Masson’s book is extremely thought-provoking. We
have known for hundreds of years that we don’t need to eat animals to survive
(vegetarians and vegans have lived long healthy lives throughout recorded
history). Increasing evidence shows that vegans live a longer and healthier
life than others. Gandhi said: “…first they ignore you, then they laugh at you,
then they fight with you, then you win.” Masson closes his book by suggesting a
variety of ways that we can help the plight of farm animals (not necessarily by
becoming a vegetarian or a vegan).Jeff Masson’s other books on animals are
also worth looking at:“When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives
of Animals”

Monday, 22 December 2014

“You will never
do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the
mind next to honour. - Aristotle

We have had some bushfires already here
in Victoria, so the fire season has officially started. This is always an important
issue every Summer in Australia, and as the season progresses we dread the news
of highly destructive bushfires breaking out and causing loss of bushland,
homes or even worse, lives. I think with gratitude of the dedicated people that
fight fires, which in the countryside are often volunteers of the Country FireAuthority.
They do much to educate the public, prevent fires through clearing and
back-burning, and if there are fires, doing their utmost to save properties and
lives.
So for Movie Monday a film that I have
watched and has fires and firefighting as a theme. The bravery and
self-sacrifice of firefighters is something that we seem to forget or push to
the back of our minds until a time of crisis. However, these people can be
called upon to put their lives at risk on a daily basis in order to save
others’ lives, property and uphold social order during times where most of us
would crack under immense physical and psychological strain.
The film is Ron Howard’s 1991 “Backdraft”. This
could easily have been a film where overacting, over-the-top special effects
and heavy-handed directing were the way that things could have turned out.
However, despite what the detractors say, the film is satisfying, the
performances are good and the directing is excellent. The plot revolves around
sibling rivalry and unresolved psychological problems from the past, but
overall, I feel, it is a tribute to firemen and a way of saying thank you to
these men on whom we rely so much in times of catastrophe and when emergencies
threaten our very lives.
The film
immerses us in the lives of two firefighters, the brothers McCafferty, Stephen
and Brian. The younger (and now rookie fireman) Brian, watched his firefighter
father die in a fire when a child. Stephen, the older is in the force and in
the same station as Brian. The two brothers have had a hard time seeing eye to
eye and the conflict between them is inflamed by working together. A series of
suspicious blazes begin to occur and each has been set in order to kill
someone. Brian starts to investigate the suspected arson and this seems to
cause more friction between himself and his brother.
Robert De Niro,
Kurt Russell, William Baldwin and Donald Sutherland give good performances and
as it is to be suspected, the female roles in the film are rather underplayed
and of secondary importance. The special effects are effective and keep one on
the edge of the seat. A subplot involving political corruption is an essential
part of the movie and underpins the action at several key points. The script
could have been tighter, but still the movie works. This is certainly a film
that is worth seeing.

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WELCOME

Welcome to Nicholas V's Blog on Blogger

I have been blogging daily on this platform for several years now. It is surprising that I have persisted as the world is changing and "microblogging" is now the norm. I blog to amuse myself, make comment on current affairs, externalise some of my creativity, keep notes on things that interest me, learn something new and to surprise myself with things that I discover about this wonderful, and sometimes crazy, world we live in.

I sometimes get the impression that I am on a soapbox delivering a monologue, so your comments are welcome.